Praise for amending Affordable Housing Trust Fund

I have never been more proud than to attend the Oct. 6 Miami-Dade County Commission meeting where commissioners voted unanimously to amend the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, setting aside 50 percent of the funds to be used to meet the housing needs of very low- and extremely low-income individuals and families.

This trust fund was proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan in 2008 as a workforce housing initiative. Workforce housing continues to be a strong need in our community, however, the commission’s vote today recognized that balancing our housing priorities based on the various income level needs, is a significant policy shift that we applaud.

According to the Urban Institute, for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in Miami-Dade there are only 26 units affordable and available to them. Miami-Dade’s 75,000 extremely low-income renter households are spending more than half of their limited income on housing costs. They are just one step away from homelessness.

The Miami Coalition, People Acting for Community Together and the South Florida Community Development Coalition, among other organizations, have been advocating for this legislation, and the commission listened.

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The Miami Coalition recognizes that the private sector also has a role to play in this important community issue. To that end, we are creating a philanthropic loan fund to be utilized to leverage the Affordable Housing Trust Fund resources to encourage developers to increase their commitment to affordable housing for all income levels included in this legislation.

On behalf of The Miami Coalition and our partners, we applaud the commission for bringing us one step closer to the vision of Miami becoming a world-class city that is affordable to all who live here.

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Child advocates across Florida applaud the 2019 Florida Legislature for passing significant laws that aid the fight to prevent human trafficking. Sponsored by Sen. Lauren Book and Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, the law would shine a bright light on the places where these heinous crimes are committed — many of which, sadly, could have been prevented.
This anti-human trafficking bill, HB 851, requires educating the employees of hotels, massage parlors and adult theaters on how to spot the signs of trafficking and common practices. It calls for those employees who see evidence of these crimes to report suspicious activity to the confidential National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888).
The law also reclassifies strip clubs that employ underage victims who commonly come from the foster care system and overseas, only to become trapped by trafficking rings — as adult theaters. Additionally, the law requires that law enforcement personnel be educated on trafficking to improve enforcement.
Further, it would create a Prostitution Public Database of those convicted of soliciting prostitution in Florida and a fund to support the enforcement through steep fines, and to help the victims.
The bill comes none too soon for would-be victims. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 367 cases of human trafficking in Florida in 2018, the third highest in the nation. Sadly, that’s a fraction of the 2,133 calls to the Florida Abuse Hotline reporting trafficking in 2017-2018, a figure that’s up 147 percent over the past four years, according to the Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.
This law, which was the last substantive bill passed by the Legislature in its recent session, is an laudable, aggressive step in attacking some of Florida’s most vile crimes.
Howard M. Talenfeld,
president,
Florida’s Children First,
Fort Lauderdale